A variational approach to the Yau–Tian–Donaldson conjecture

We give a variational proof of a version of the Yau–Tian–Donaldson conjecture for twisted Kähler–Einstein currents, and use this to express the greatest (twisted) Ricci lower bound in terms of a purely algebro-geometric stability threshold. Our approach does not involve a continuity method or the Cheeger–Colding–Tian theory, and uses instead pluripotential theory and valuations. Along the way, we study the relationship between geodesic rays and non-Archimedean metrics.